u/IHaveTheBestOpinions — reddlx

I've been getting emails from classaction.org for a long time and have occasionally signed up to be part of a class. I got one recently that seems unusual, though. It's a class action suit against Oura Ring, "sponsored by" Milberg, LLC. When I have signed up for these in the past, I have usually just filled out a little form acknowledging that I'm part of the class, and maybe I get a payment in a couple years, maybe not.

This time the form seems more involved - it looks like I am actually entering an agreement with Milberg where they "represent" me and take 40% of any award they recover for me. In my limited understanding of how class action lawsuits work, I thought the legal fees were negotiated as part of the settlement, and I have never needed any kind of retainer agreement with the law firm. Does this mean they're taking an additional 40% of my award, on top of the legal fees negotiated in the settlement? What happens if I just skip this part and join the class later?

Long time console gamer finally ready to build my first gaming PC! I've played consoles for many years because I like playing on the big TV from the couch, and because I don't want to lose gaming time fiddling with settings or troubleshooting driver issues. That said, I hate the console subscriptions and walled garden approach to peripherals. The Steam Deck has convinced me that Valve's SteamOS provides the ease of use and QOL features that I'm looking for in a PC format, so I think it's time to make the leap.

After a ton of research, here's my first attempt:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor	$181.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 CPU Cooler	$84.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard	$199.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Crucial Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL38 Memory	$359.99 @ Best Buy
Storage	Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	already own
Video Card	Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card	$769.99 @ Amazon
Case	Antec FLUX PRO ATX Full Tower Case	$154.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$123.99 @ Newegg
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total	$2324.84
Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-04-27 12:10 EDT-0400

A couple notes:

I am aware of the (hopefully imminent) Steam Machine and 6 months ago that was my plan. But with the recent price hikes on parts and increasingly outdated hardware in the SM, I think I'd rather pay $2k for a solid and upgradeable build than $1k(ish) for a low-end PC that I'll want to fully replace in a few years.
I'm planning to go all AMD because I want to use SteamOS, and I've read AMD has better linux support. Also because it seems to be a better value in today's GPU market.
I will be playing on my 4k TV with a controller, or in VR (Quest 3 for now, hopefully soon the Steam Frame). I mostly play single player games, no competitive shooters. I care about pretty graphics but don't need super high frame rates - a solid 60 fps is great for me. 90 or 120 fps may have advantages in VR.
Low noise is a priority. I'm spending more on a lot of the parts that contribute the most to noise levels (Sapphire GPU, high end CPU cooler, high flow case, oversized PSU) in the hopes that this rig will run as silently as possible.
RAMpocolypse: yes, I know now is a historically bad time to by RAM. But that doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon, and I'd rather overspend by a couple hundred dollars than wait 2 years for prices to normalize.
Memory: I included the SSD for the compatibility check, but I already have this drive. Purchased it a couple years ago for extra PS5 storage, and will repurpose it for this PC. So that's one thing I don't have to buy at inflated prices, thankfully.
CPU: A lot of people recommend the 9800X3D, but all the actual testing I can find indicates that the 9600X is more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecking a 9070 XT in any real word gaming scenario, especially at 4k60. Right now the 9800X3D is $440 and the 9600X is $180...if anyone can come up with a compelling reason to shell out the extra cash for the 9800X3D I'd love to hear it, but it's hard to justify if it won't have any impact on actual gaming performace.
This will be essentially a gaming-only rig. I don't do any content creation, AI stuff, crypto mining, etc.

Thanks to anyone who has read this far, and I'd love to hear your input! Have you tried a living room build and/or SteamOS? Any parts you think are overkill or underpowered? Tips on reducing noise? I've done a lot of research but I'm still a n00b, so all feedback is welcome!